Bharti Airtel is the world's fifth largest telecommunication company and has more than 150 million users in India, 40 million in Africa and another 10 million in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In November

2010, Airtel said its subscriber base has crossed the 200 million mark and unveiled a new logo to mark the achievement.

The logo as shown alongside is a modern representation of the letter 'a' on a bright red background. Here are some notes and comments from Bharti on their design

The unique symbol is an interpretation of the €˜a€™ in airtel.

The curved shape & the gentle highlights on the red color make it warm & inviting, almost as if it were a living object.

The logo represents a dynamic force of unparalleled energy that brings us and our customers closer," it added.

The €œunboxed€ having been freed of its rigid boundaries.

The color "Red is part of our heritage. it is the color of energy & passion that expresses the dynamism that has made Airtel the success it is today, in India, and now on the global stage

Some other notes on the logo.

- The logo has been designed by creative agency JWT

- The logo is called "The Wave"- The entire re-branding campaign has apparently cost the company close to Rs 300-Crore- A new theme tune, composed by A.R Rehman has also been released

The old logo shown alongside, also called the flag logo because the look resembled just that €” the colours red and white alternating with each other. The word €˜Air€™, in black, was placed against a white background, while €˜Tel€™, in white, appeared against a red backdrop. To keep the continuity going, the dot of the letter €˜i€™ in the word, was also red.

Overall, for the amount spent and the hoopla around the logo, I don't feel so gung-ho about the logo. It seems more like the shape of an ear that 'a' (Logo Parodies anyone?) . Maybe its to represent the fact that you need good ears to listen to their poor network. The general reaction has been mixed so I wonder if the spend was worth it. In any case, it has generated a lot of buzz.